A surefire and highly optimistic harbinger of spring is the great horned owl. The massive owl is the first Ohio bird species ...

The great horned owl is the most common owl of the Americas, easily recognizable because of the feather tufts on its head. These “plumicorns” resemble horns or, to some, catlike ears.

Great horned owls are one of the few predators of the malodorous mammals, and the owl’s poorly developed sense of smell apparently masks them from the pungent spray. In more urbanized ...